Vacuum-sweeper



C. W. STEWART.

' VACUUM SWEEPER.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 13. 1919.

Patented Dec. 9,1919.

amvamioi lit) " UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

, CLAUDE W. STEWART, 0F MARTINSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA.

- VACUUM-SWEEPER.

Application filed March 13, 1919. Serial No. 282,263.

To all whom it may concern; 7

Be it known that I, CLAUDE W. STEWART, a citizen of the United States of America, and a resident of Martinsburg, county of Berkeley, and State of West Virginia, have invented certain new and useful Improve ments in Vacuum-Sweepers, of which the following is a full and clear specification.

This invention has relation to that type of vacuum sweeper which employs a beltdriven rotary brush in the nozzle-chamber for the purpose of loosening the dirt-in the floor-covering preparatory to its inspiration into the machine, and the object of the present invention .is to provide simple mechanism for stopping the motor when the rotary brush becomes clogged with raveli'ngs wound upon it in suflicient quantity to stop the brush or impair its efficiency, as more fully hereinafter set forth.

In the drawing- I v The figure represents a side elevation of a well-known type of vacuum floor-sweeper partly in vertical section, showing my in vention applied thereto.

In the drawing, a designates the usua brush which consists of a horizontal shaft provided with tuftsof bristles and which is driven by a belt]; from the usual pulley '0 on the fan-motor-shaft. It frequently happens in this type ofmachine that strings, hair and ravelings wind upon the brush and accumulate thereon in suflicient quantity to cause suflicient binding against the adjacent wall of the nozzle-chamber to entirely arrest therotation of the brush. in

this case, the machine, of course, becomes -practically inoperative, and, if use of the machine continues while the brush is thus clogged against rotation, the belt will slip on the small driven pulley c and result eventually in ruining the belt by burning. In view of the fact that a machine of this type willnecessarily be used by persons of little or no mechanical knowledge or eXperience, it frequently happens not only that the machine causes great dissatisfaction on the part of the user, but also that the belt will be destroyed before the trouble is understood or discovered- My present invention is designed to provide simple means where by the collecting on the brush of sufiicient ravelings will automatically open the motor circuit and thus stop the motor.

One way of applying my invention is to mount in the nozzle-chamber, Just above and Specification of 'Letters Patent.

Patented ta. 9, 1919.

to the rear of the brush, a. finger or plate (Z pivot e' mounted in the rear wall of the nozzle-chamber,

a hole being provided in said rear wall through which said rear end of the finger extends. This finger extends rearwardly beyond the pivot e and is connected pivotally at g to the lower end of an upright link f whose upper end is p votally connected'at k to the forwardlyextending arm 71 of a b'ell-crank',-the upwardly-extending arm j of said bell-crank being pivotally connected by a link 70 to a switch Z which is the usual manually-oper-i able motor-controlling switch of the machine.

In the drawing, the parts are shown in the position they assume when the switch is on. In this position, the finger or plate at 1s close to the brush bristles and the switchlever is pushed to the extremity in a rearing of the rotary brush will be avoided,

thereby rendering the machine virtually foolproof. It will be understood that the tripping-finger or plate (Z may be duplicated or multiplied. so as to' cover more or less of the area of the brush, and it will be understood further that the lever-andlink arrangement may be duplicated on the opposite side of the machineif it be found desirable to do so.

i The nature and scope of the invention having been thus indicated and its preferred embodiment having been specificall-y de- 'scribed, what is claimed as new is:

1. In a motor-driven vacuum sweeper employing a rotary brush in the nozzlechamber and an electric switch for controlling the motor, a member adapted to be moved by the accumulation of ravelings on the brush, and means operated by said member for openino said switch.

- sisting of an arrangement of links and 2. In a motor-driven vacuum sweeper employing a rotary brush in the nozzle-chamber and an electric switch for controlling the motor, a member adapted to be moved by the accumulation of ravelings on .the brush and curved to approximate the surface of the brush, and means operated by said'member for 0 ening said switch.

3. In a motorrlven vacuum sweeper employing a rotary brush in the nozzle chamber and an electric switch for controlling the motor, a member adapted to be moved by the accumulation of ravelings on the brush, and means operated by said member for opening said switch, said means conaccumulated on the brush, the rear end of said finger being extended rearwardly through the wall of the nozzle-chamber, and means connected to said rearwardlyextend- 'ing' end to actuate the motor-switch.

5. In a vacuum sweeper in which the r0- tary brush is arranged in the nozzle and is driven by a belt connection with an electric motor controlled by an electric switch, a

finger mounted in the nozzle-chamber at the upper rear side of the brush and adapted to be swung upwardly and rearwardly by ravelings accumulated on the brush, and means connecting said finger to said switch whereby actuation of the finger b said ravelings will throw the switch to 0 position;

6. In a vacuum sweeper in which a rotary brush is arranged in the nozzle and is driven from an electric motor controlled by an electric manually-operable switch, a member mounted in the nozzle-chamber and adapted to be actuated by ravelings accumulated on the brush, and positive means for connecting said member to said manually-operable switch whereby the manual manipulation of the switch to on position will automatically adjust the member to operative position, whereby the accumulation of ravelings on the brush. will throu h said positive means shift the switch to 0 position.

In testimony WhereofI hereunto aflix my signature.

' CLAUDE W. STEWART. 

